ALMENDINGERGerman, German (Swiss)Habitational name for someone from a place called Allmendingen, of which there are two examples in Switzerland, in Bern canton, and one in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.

BEEREnglish, German, Dutch, German (Swiss)Habitational name from any of the forty or so places in southwestern England called Beer(e) or Bear(e). Most of these derive their names from the West Saxon dative case, beara, of Old English bearu ‘grove’, ‘wood’ (the standard Old English dative bearwe being preserved in Barrow)... [more]

BERNGerman, Scandinavian, German (Swiss)German and Scandinavian: from the personal name Berno, a pet form of Bernhard. In South German it comes from the habitational name from Bern, Switzerland, notably in the south; in other parts from the personal name Berno.

ERMATINGERGerman (Swiss)The surname Ermatinger derives from the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance. It simply means "from Ermatingen".... [more]

ESSLow German, German (Swiss)North German: topographic name for someone living on or owning land that was waterlogged or partly surrounded by water, from Middle Low German es ‘swamp’, ‘water’. ... [more]

GRAFGerman, German (Swiss)Status name from Middle High German grave, grabe, which was used as a title denoting various more or less aristocratic dignitaries and officials. In later times it became established as a title of nobility equivalent to the Romance count... [more]

GRUNWALDGerman, German (Swiss), JewishGerman and Swiss German (Grünwald): habitational name from any of various places named Grün(e)wald, from Middle High German gruene ‘green’ + walt ‘wood’, ‘forest’. ... [more]

OCHSNERGerman (Swiss)Means "Oxen Herder" in Swiss. It is pronounced as OCKSNER, and it is just as popular in Switzerland as Smith is in the US.

OVERHOLSERGerman (Swiss)The Oberholtzer family originated in the Swiss village of Oberholtz, south of Zurich, before the 15th century. However, in 1661, one family left Switzerland for the Palatinate in Germany.

RAISCHGerman, German (Swiss)From Middle High German rīsch, rūsch ‘reed’, ‘rush’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived near a reed bed, or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who used or harvested reeds... [more]

ROHRBACHGerman, German (Swiss)German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Rohrbach (‘reed brook’ or ‘channel brook’) in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is a common surname in Pennsylvania.

RUCHGerman (Swiss)It was originally a nickname for a greedy person, from Middle High German ruoch ‘eager,’ ‘intent.’... [more]

RUTHEnglish, German (Swiss)English: from Middle English reuthe ‘pity’ (a derivative of rewen to pity, Old English hreowan) nickname for a charitable person or for a pitiable one. Not related to the given name in this case.... [more]

RYNEGerman (Swiss)Respelling of Swiss German Rhyn, a topographic name for someone living on the Rhine river, Middle High German Rin.

ZUBERGerman, German (Swiss)German: Metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker, from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a tub. ... [more]